Puzzle



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN P. JOHNSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,444, dated April 5,1887. Application filed January 12, 1887. Serial No. 224,132. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALVIN P. JOHNSON, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulPuzzle, of which the following, taken in commotion with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an amusing andinstructiveentertainment for children and others; and it consists in a series ofplates of wood, metal, card-board, or other suitable material of suchshape and size that when placed together with their edges in contactthey will make up or represent a single larger plate from which they mayhave been out, said plates having printed, stamped, out, or otherwiseformed therein or affixed thereon figures, characters, or objects in aplurality of positions relative to the sides of said plates, incombination with a test plate provided with a series of holescorresponding in numher to the number of figures, characters, or objectsformed upon said series of smaller plates, and so located relative toeach other that the figures, characters, or objects formed upon saidsmall-er plates may all be seen through said holes when-said smallerplates are placed together with their edges in contact, with eachsmaller plate bearing its true and correct position relative to all ofthe othersmaller plates, and the perforated test-plate is placed uponthe cluster of smaller plates in its proper position, as will be furtherdescribed.

Figure l of the drawings represents the se ries of small plates in theirtrue position. Fig. 2 is a plan of the perforated test-plate. Fig. 3 isa transverse section on line as x on Fig. 2. Figs. 4. and 5 arerespectively a plan and an edge view of one of the smaller platesprovided with a projecting object instead of a printed figure, and Figs.6 and 7 are respectively a plan and section of one of the series ofsmall plates provided with a perforation in lieu of the printed figure.

In the drawings, A A are the series of small plates, each provided witha figure, character, or object, a, formed thereon, therein, or affixedthereto, as shown, said figure, character, or object being arranged uponeach of said plates A in a different position relative to the edges ofits plate, to the figure, character, or object on any other of saidplates.

The figures, characters, or objects a may be printed upon the plates A,as shown in Fig. 1, or said plates may be perforated, as shown in Figs.6 and 7, or they may have projecting objects alfixed thereon, as shownin Figs. 4 and 5, without affecting the principles of my invention.

B is the test-plate, having an areaconsiderably larger than theaggregate of the areas of the series of smaller plates, A, and havingformed therein a series of holes, b b, arranged relative to each other,so that when the plate B is placed upon the series of plates A, arrangedas shown in Fig. 1, one of the figures, characters, or objects a will beseen through each of the holes I) b, the positions of the smallerplates, A, relative to the plate B when the latter is placed upon theformer being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The plates A may be made square, as shown, or of any other desired shapewhich will fit together in more than one position, and there fore I donot wish to be restricted to the pie cise form of said plates shown inthe drawings.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The plates A beingthoroughly mixed or shuffled, the puzzleis to place them together againwith their edges in contact and in their true or correct position, sothat when the test-plate B is placed above them in a certain positionone of the figures, characters, or objects upon the plates A may be seenthrough each of the openings in said plate B.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-- A puzzle composed of a series of plates of a shapeand size to fit together, each in more than one position, to make up alarger plate, said plates being provided with figures arranged in aplurality of positions relative to the edges of said plates, incombination with a test-plate provided with a series of holes orperforations corresponding in number and po sition to the series offigures upon the smaller plates when said smaller plates are placed withtheir edges in contact and each smaller plate occupying its correctposition relative to all of-the other plates, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 8th day of J anuary, A.D. 1887.

' ALVIN I. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

N. O. LOMBARD, WALTER E. LOMBARD.

